The present invention generally relates to the use of sensors to monitor the concentration of a chemical species in bodily fluids. More specifically, the present invention relates to the use of sensors to monitor glucose levels, and/or other parameters in a fluid, including flow rate within a lumen of an endoluminal implant such as a stent or other type of endovascular conduit.
Diabetes mellitus is a serious medical condition affecting approximately 10.5 million Americans, in which the patient is not able to maintain blood glucose levels within the normal range (normoglycemia). Approximately 10% of these patients have insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (Type I diabetes, IDDM), and the remaining 90% have non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (Type II diabetes, NIDDM). The long-term consequences of diabetes include increased risk of heart disease, blindness, end-stage renal disease, and non-healing ulcers in the extremities. The economic impact of diabetes to society has been estimated by the American Diabetes Association at approximately $45.2 billion annually (Jonsson, B., The Economic Impact of Diabetes, Diabetes Care 21(Suppl 3): C7-C10, (1998)).
A major long-term clinical study, the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial, involving 1,441 patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (Type I diabetes) over a 10-year period from 1984-1993, demonstrated that by intensive therapy (frequent administration of either short- or long-acting insulin), these long-term consequences (retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy) could be reduced (xe2x80x9cThe Effect of Intensive Treatment of Diabetes on the Development and Progression of Long-Term Complications in Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus,xe2x80x9d The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial Research Group, New Eng. J. Med., 329: 977-86 (1993)). Unfortunately, a major difficulty encountered during the trial was that intensive treatment also resulted in a higher incidence of low blood glucose levels (hypoglycemia), which was severe enough to result in coma or death, as compared to patients under conventional medical management.
Currently, diabetics must monitor their condition by repeatedly pricking their fingers in order to obtain blood samples for evaluation. The major drawback to self-monitoring of glucose is that it is discontinuous and therefore the number of glucose measurements performed is dependent on the motivation of the patient.
Existing analytical techniques and devices for in vitro glucose measurements have a high level of accuracy (the error can be  less than 1%). Many of these routine methods are accepted as standards of comparison with new devices. Management of diabetes currently relies on these methods to control the disease and minimize complications.
There are two main disadvantages to these existing options. First, sampling even a minimal amount of blood multiple times per day is associated with risks of infection, nerve and tissue damage, and discomfort to the patients. Second, in the case of dynamic changes in glucose concentration, very frequent or even continuous measurements of blood glucose levels are required (Wilkins, E., et al., xe2x80x9cGlucose Monitoring: State of the Art and Future Possibilitiesxe2x80x9d, Med. Eng. Phys. 18(4):273-88, (1996).
There are two main approaches to the development of a continuous blood glucose monitor. The first category is non-invasive sensors, which obtain information from physico-chemical characteristics of glucose (spectral, optical, thermal, electromagnetic, or other). The second category is invasive sensors. In this group, there is intimate mechanical contact of the sensor with biological tissues or fluids, since the device is placed within the body. (Wilkins, 1996).
Non-invasive sensor technology has focused on the absorption of the near-infrared (NIR) spectra by the analyte, in this case, glucose (See U.S. Pat. No. 5,945,676 to Khalil, et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,197 to Stark). Absorptions which occur in the NIR region are most often associated with overtone and combination bands of the fundamental vibrations of xe2x80x94OH, xe2x80x94NH, and xe2x80x94CH functional groups. As a result, most biochemical species will exhibit some absorption in the region of interest. Glucose measurements are usually performed in the spectra region from 4250 to 660 cmxe2x88x921. These highly overlapping, weakly absorbing bands were initially thought to be too complex for interpretation and too weak for practical application. Improvements in instrumentation and advances in multivariate chemometric data analysis techniques may allow meaningful results to be obtained from these complex spectra.
However, to date these devices are not particularly accurate even in the normal physiological range. A subject-dependent concentration bias has been reported. The temperature sensitivity of water absorption bands in the glucose-measuring region can be a significant source of error in clinical assays. In addition, the devices can also be affected by individual variations between patients at the measurement site. Skin location, temperature and tissue structure may affect the results, and decrease the accuracy of the reading.
Other investigators have looked into measurement of glucose from body fluids other than blood, such as sweat, saliva, urine, or tears. However, factors relating to diet and exercise can affect glucose levels in these fluids. In general, there is no strong correlation established between glucose concentration in the blood and in excreted fluids. The lag time between blood and excreted fluid glucose concentrations can be large enough to render such measurements inaccurate.
The continuous in vivo monitoring of glucose in diabetic subjects should greatly improve the treatment and management of diabetes by reducing the onus on the patient to perform frequent glucose measurements. Implanted glucose sensors could be used to provide information on continuously changing glucose levels in the patient, enabling swift and appropriate action to be taken. In addition, daily glucose concentration measurements could be evaluated by a physician. An implantable sensor could also provide an alarm for hypoglycemia, for example, overnight, which is a particular need for diabetics. Failure to respond can result in loss of consciousness and in extreme cases convulsive seizures. Similarly, a hyperglycemic alarm would provide an early warning of elevated blood glucose levels, thus allowing the patient to check blood or urine for ketone bodies, and to avert further metabolic complications. (Jaffari, S. A. et al., xe2x80x9cRecent Advances In Amperometric Glucose Biosensors For In Vivo Monitoringxe2x80x9d, Physiol. Meas. 16:1-15 (1995)).
Invasive glucose sensors may be categorized based on the physical principle of the transducer being incorporated. Current transducer technology includes electrochemical, piezoelectric, thermoelectric, acoustic, and optical transducers.
In piezoelectric, thermoelectric, and acoustic (surface acoustic wave, SAW) sensors used for glucose measurement, an enzyme-catalyzed reaction is used to create a measurable change in a physical parameter detected by the transducer. The development of these sensors is at an early laboratory stage (Hall, E., Biosensors, Oxford University Press. Oxford, 1990). Optical sensors are based on changes in some optical parameter due to enzyme reactions or antibody-antigen reactions at the transducer interface. Based on the nature of the monitoring process, they are densitometric, refractometric, or calorimetric devices. At present, none of them meets the selectivity requirements to sense and accurately measure glucose in real physiological fluids.
There is a significant body of literature regarding the development of electrochemical glucose sensors. These generally incorporate an enzyme, which selectively reacts with glucose. Examples of enzymes, which selectively react with glucose, are glucose oxidase (GOD), hexokinase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD), or glucose dehydrogenase. Hexokinase is an enzyme that catalyzes the phosphorylation of glucose by ATP to form glucose-6-phosphate and ADP. 
Monitoring the reaction requires a second enzyme, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, in the following reaction: 
The formation of NADPH may be measured by absorbance at 340 nm or by fluorescence at 456 nm (Jaffari, 1995).
Glucose dehydrogenase is another enzyme, which may be used for monitoring glucose in the following reaction: 
The NADH generated is proportional to the glucose concentration.
Glucose oxidase is the most commonly used enzyme reported in the literature. Its reaction is relatively simple, inexpensive, and may be monitored using a variety of techniques.
These advantages have led to the extensive use of this enzyme in clinical analysis as well as its incorporation in the majority of prototype biosensor configurations. The reaction of glucose with this enzyme is a two-stage reaction:
1) xcex2-D-glucose+GOD(FAD)xe2x86x92glucono-xcex4-lactone+GOD(FADH2)
2) GOD(FADH2)+O2xe2x86x92GOD(FAD)+H2O2 
3) glucono-xcex4-lactone+H2Oxe2x86x92gluconic acid
The overall reaction is usually expressed as:
4) xcex2-D-glucose+O2+H2Oxe2x86x92gluconic acid+H2O2 
The reaction can therefore be monitored by the consumption of oxygen, the production of hydrogen peroxide, or the change in acidity due to the increase of gluconic acid.
Despite the foregoing and other efforts in the art, a suitable continuous in dwelling glucose sensor has not yet been developed.
A critical factor in the design of an implanted sensor is the anatomical site in which it is implanted. A few investigators have developed monitoring systems, which can be placed within the vascular system. Armour et al. (xe2x80x9cApplication of Chronic Intravascular Blood Glucose Sensor in Dogsxe2x80x9d, Diabetes 39:1519-26 (1990)) implanted a sensor into the superior vena cava of six dogs for a period of up to 15 weeks with relative success. However, due to the risks of thrombosis and embolization, the majority of investigators have focused on subcutaneous implantation.
A major drawback to subcutaneous implantation is the body""s defense against foreign objects: the xe2x80x9cforeign-body responsexe2x80x9d. In this host response, if an object cannot be removed by the inflammatory response, foreign-body giant cells will form a xe2x80x9cwallxe2x80x9d around the object, which is subsequently followed by the formation of a fibrous capsule. If the object is a blood glucose sensor, it will no longer be in intimate contact with body fluids, and the signal will drift and stability will be lost. There are numerous reports of sensor stability being lost in about a week (Wilson, G. S., et al., xe2x80x9cProgress Towards The Development Of An Implantable Sensor For Glucosexe2x80x9d, Clin. Chem. 1992 38:1613-7, and Kemer, et al., xe2x80x9cA Potentially Implantable Enzyme Electrode For Amperometric Measurement Of Glucosexe2x80x9d, Horm. Metab. Res. Suppl. Ser. 20: 8-13 (1988)). Updike et al. (Updike, Stuart J., et al., xe2x80x9cEnzymatic Glucose Sensors: Improved Long-Term Performance In Vitro And In Vivoxe2x80x9d, ASAIO J., 40: 157-163 (1994)) reported on the subcutaneous implantation of a sensor which was stable for up to 12 weeks, however, this evaluation was only performed in three animals.
Recent clinical studies have also demonstrated that implantable insulin pumps are feasible for implantation for over one year (Jaremko, J. et al., xe2x80x9cAdvances Towards the Implantable Artificial Pancreas for Treatment of Diabetes,xe2x80x9d Diabetes Care, 21(3): 444-450 (1998)). The research was inspired by the goal of the development of the artificial pancreas, and promising initial clinical trials using implantable insulin pumps. At this point in time, development of implantable insulin pumps is at a very advanced stage, with units being implanted for over 2 years in canines (Scavani et al., xe2x80x9cLong-Term Implantation Of A New Programmable Implantable Insulin Pump,xe2x80x9d Artif. Organs, 16: 518-22 (1992)) and in 25 patients for up to 3 years (Waxman, et al., xe2x80x9cImplantable Programmable Insulin Pumps For The Treatment Of Diabetesxe2x80x9d, Arch. Surg., 127: 1032-37 (1992)).
A number of wearable insulin pumps are described by Irsigler et al. (xe2x80x9cControlled Drug Delivery In The Treatment Of Diabetes Mellitus,xe2x80x9d Crit. Rev. Ther. Drug Carrier Syst., 1(3): 189-280 (1985)). Thus, it should be relatively straightforward to couple a long-term implantable glucose sensor as described in this disclosure, to an insulin pump to optimize glycemic control for the patient.
Notwithstanding the extensive efforts in the prior art, however, there remains a need for an implantable blood glucose sensor for implantation in a blood vessel, which can provide useful blood glucose readings for an extended period of time, without material interference from thrombus formation, embolization, or other foreign body response. Preferably, the sensor is capable of continuous or near continuous monitoring, and driving an implantable insulin pump and/or making blood glucose data available to the patient or medical personnel.
The present invention generally relates to the use of sensors to monitor the concentration of a chemical species in bodily fluids, and more specifically, to a novel sensor configuration to monitor glucose levels in a body vessel. The device is an implantable glucose sensor, which is delivered to the patient""s vascular system preferably transluminally via a catheter, using a stent or stent-graft as a platform. One feature of the device is that the sensor surface is placed at the apex of the luminal surface of a streamlined housing, so that the shear rate at the sensor/blood interface is sufficient to minimize the thickness of the formed thrombus layer. In this manner, significant tissue deposition or encapsulation due to potential fibrotic reactions is minimized, and transport of glucose to the sensor is not altered over time.
Thus, there is provided in accordance with one aspect of the present invention a blood glucose detector for implantation within a blood vessel. The blood glucose detector comprises a support, having a first side for contacting the wall of the vessel and a second side for facing radially inwardly towards the center of the vessel. A sensor is carried by the support, and the sensor has a sensing surface thereon. The sensing surface is spaced radially inwardly from the first side by a distance of at least about 0.2 to 2.5 mm, such that the velocity of blood in the vessel inhibits obstruction of the sensing surface. Preferably, the distance is at least about 0.5 mm. The blood glucose detector further comprises a transmitter on the support, for transmitting information from the sensor to an external receiver. In one embodiment, the support comprises an expandable tubular body. The tubular body may be either a balloon expandable or a self-expandable component such as a stent. The tubular body may be further provided with a tubular sheath on the radially inwardly directed surface and/or the radially outwardly directed surface. In one embodiment, the sensor comprises an analyte permeable membrane and an enzyme gel layer.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of prolonging the useful life of a sensor in a blood vessel. The method comprises the steps of providing a sensor having an analyte sensing surface thereon, and positioning the sensor at a site in a blood vessel such that the sensing surface is positioned radially inwardly from the vessel wall by a sufficient distance that the blood flow shear rate at the sensing surface substantially delays obstruction of the sensing surface. Preferably, the positioning step comprises carrying the sensor on a catheter and transluminally advancing the catheter to the site.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided an implantable sensor for sensing the presence of an analyte in a vessel. The sensor comprises a tubular support structure for anchoring the sensor in a vessel. The support has a sidewall with a luminal side facing towards the center of the vessel and an abluminal side facing towards the wall of the vessel. A sensor housing is carried by the support structure, the housing having a streamlined exterior configuration to minimize blood flow turbulence. A power supply and electrical circuitry are provided in the housing, and a sensing surface carried by the housing is exposed to the exterior of the housing. The sensing surface is positioned on the radially inwardly most portion of the luminal side of the housing.
Preferably, the support structure comprises an expandable metal coil or mesh. The sensor housing may be positioned on the luminal side of the support structure or the abluminal side of the support structure.
Further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those of skill in the art in view of the detailed description of preferred embodiments which follows, when considered together with the attached drawings and claims.